Derby Week: Northern Ireland readies itself for double Christmas cracker
In Britain, where this day is known as Boxing Day, it is a traditional date and one of the most popular and watched. In Northern Ireland, that's why Boxing Day is also marked by some of the most exciting and exciting fights - the derby. The Northern Ireland Premiership brings four of its biggest that day.
In most countries where Christmas is celebrated, the second day of Christmas is known as St Stephen's Day. In the United Kingdom and Commonwealth countries, December 26th is most commonly referred to as Boxing Day. It is based on the tradition of giving gifts to the poor on this day. Nowadays, in addition to the charitable aspect, there is a tradition of employees receiving a Christmas box from their employers.
In Christian countries based on predominantly Catholic customs, there is no work on St Stephen's Day; the second day of Christmas is one of the main church festivals there. In the UK and many Commonwealth countries, however, Boxing Day is also the time when boxes are bought new - it's a day of big discounts and people take department stores by storm. Football matches are similarly popular and popular on Boxing Day.
Boxing Day? Derby Day!
In Northern Ireland, it is traditionally a game day during which all the big derbies take place. As well as taking advantage of a popular date for the most attractive matches, there is a reason for holding the 'derby round' on Boxing Day which is closely linked to Christmas.
This is because the biggest, and therefore usually geographically closest, rivals are pitted against each other, allowing the holiday to remain as family friendly as possible (although this is increasingly belied by the normal course and manner of spending this Christmas Day in Britain, as described above).
Matches against local rivals do not involve long journeys, and football fans are able to spend the whole day spending Christmas time with their loved ones, in addition to the relatively short time set aside for the football match. However, in many families anyway, Boxing Day revolves mainly and exclusively around one theme and one Christmas wish - to beat an age-old rival in the derby!
Belfast's Linfield and Glentoran are the biggest clubs in Northern Ireland. They have the most fans and are clearly the most successful. Historically second best Glentoran have won 23 championships whereas Linfield have been Northern Ireland champions 56 times, making them the best team in the world in terms of league titles. Second-placed Rangers and third-placed Celtic, the great Glasgow rivals and masters of Scottish football, have won 55 and 53 titles respectively.
The Linfield-Glentoran match is thus rightly called the 'Big Two' derby. However, the 'big two' used to be Belfast Celtic along with Linfield. Currently still the third most successful club (winning 14 titles), they were relegated from the league in 1948. Since then, Linfield's main rivals have been Glentoran.
The two rivals have never been relegated from Northern Ireland's top football competition since its inception in 1890. Because of this (and because the teams in the 12-team Northern Irish league play each other four times during the season), the Big Two Derby, sometimes referred to as the "Bel Clásico", is the most played derby in the world.
Tuesday will mark the 646th competitive match. Linfield have won 304, Glentoran 189. In the first two derbies of the season (once in the league, the other in the League Cup) Linfield were victorious over their rivals, but last time Glentoran triumphed 4-0.
North Belfast Derby - a religious, ethnic and political clash
Belfast is also home to the third and fourth best teams in the Northern Irish League - Cliftonville and Crusaders. The Crusaders are the third best (historically fourth after the defunct Belfast Celtic) even historically. They have won a total of seven championship titles. Even Cliftonville are high in the overall tables with five titles.
For most of history, the rivalry between Cliftonville and Crusaders was simply based on the geographical proximity of the two clubs. However, tensions between the two camps increased significantly during the period of conflict in Northern Ireland known as The Troubles. It lasted from the 1960s onwards and only ended in 1998 - although isolated incidents of violence between the feuding sides still occur.
It was an ethnic, political and religious dispute. On one side are the Unionists, who are predominantly Protestant British. They want to preserve Northern Ireland as part of the United Kingdom. On the other side are the Irish nationalists, who are mostly Catholic and consider themselves Irish. Their ambition is for Northern Ireland to secede from the United Kingdom and to merge into a united Ireland.
During the years of conflict, the Crusaders and their supporters have emerged as supporters of the unionist movement, and Cliftonville, on the other hand, has tended towards the Irish, nationalist section of the population. Both meetings so far this season have been won by Cliftonville unanimously 3-0.
The other traditional Northern Irish football rivalry on the agenda for Boxing Day is the derby between Ballymena United and Coleraine. Their clash is named after the A26 which links the two towns in the north of the country. The two sides have already met three times in the current season. The first time was won by Coleraine, the second by Ballymena. Their third clash in the League Cup semi-final was decided on penalties, in which Coleraine were the happier side.
Teams from the towns of Larne and Carrickfergus, which lie 15 miles apart in the eastern part of County Antrim in the east of the country, will also clash. Larne succeeded 2-0 last time out. Carrick Rangers have been waiting for a win against their rivals since 2019 (15 games in total).
The Northern Ireland Premiership has round 22 on Friday, the 22nd and Saturday, the 23rd of December. Follow all the local derbies on Boxing Day as part of Round 23 on Flashscore.
Big Two Derby
North Belfast Derby
A26 Derby
[a href="/match/SdJVEbxo/#/match-summary/"][b]Carrick Rangers - Larne
East Antrim Derby
Other derbies of the week:
Thursday, December 21st
Romania - Liga I
Cluj Derby
Cluj is the third largest city in Romania and the main centre of the Transylvania region. It is home to two traditional clubs - CFR Cluj and Universitatea Cluj. The last derby in the league was won by CFR in August after a 4-3 shootout. After that, the two city rivals drew 1-1 in the domestic cup.
England - Premier League
El Gatwick (Derby for Gatwick Airport)
You might say that Crystal Palace would have bigger rivals in London, however, its biggest rival is Brighton, which is located on the coast 75km south of the English capital. Derby is nicknamed either after the M23 motorway or also Gatwick Airport, which is located halfway between the two cities.
Friday, December 22nd
Netherlands - Eerste Divisie (2nd league)
West-Brabantse Derby
In the western part of the Dutch province of North Brabant, two similarly sized cities lie just 30 kilometres apart. Both Breda and Tilburg have almost 200,000 inhabitants. NAC and Willem II are not only great regional rivals, but also aspirants for promotion to the top Dutch competition.
Saturday December 23rd
Australia - A-League
Melbourne City - Melbourne Victory
Melbourne Derby
Melbourne is the second largest city in Australia after Sydney. It is home to five million people and two premier league clubs. They have a very even record together - both have won 15 derbies, while 11 of their matches have ended in a draw. City and Victory have each won three championship titles.
Italy - Serie A
Derby of the Sun
AS Rome and Naples are the most popular clubs outside of northern Italy, where the centre of gravity of Italian football lies thanks to Torino, Milan and many other cities and clubs. The clash between the two biggest teams from the southern half of the country is called the Derby of the South (Derby del Sud) or also the Derby of the Sun.
Sunday, December 24th
Turkey - Super Lig
Intercontinental Derby
One of the most passionate clashes in the world takes place on Christmas Eve. Fenerbahce (28 titles) and Galatasaray (24 titles) are the two most successful Turkish clubs. Their derby is called Intercontinental because Fenerbahce is based on the Asian shore of the Bosphorus and Galatasaray is a club from the European part of Istanbul.
Monday, December 25th
Algeria - Ligue 1
Algerian derby
USM Algiers (full name Union Sportive de la Médina d'Alger) and MC Algiers (Mouloudia Club d'Alger) are two traditional clubs from the country's capital. Both are among the best on the local scene. Their rivalry began when Algeria was a French colony.